It was revealed on 10 October that Guy Jackson, Derbyshire's
captain, had entered a nursing home with ill-health and would not tour. Percy
Holmes took his place in the side. The replacement captain, 'Rony'
Stanyforth, had played for neither England
nor his county, Yorkshire, before the tour.
He did not appear for Yorkshire until 1928
and then played in only three games as wicket-keeper. Spin bowlers Peebles
and Staples were not among the original selection.

Though M.C.C's team was somewhat elderly, it was as inexperienced
as that sent under Chapman four years later was experienced. Then only two of
the tour party were new to Test cricket but in 1927-28 nine had yet to make
their Test debut and twelve had not previously been on a Test tour.

England won the
first two Test matches, and looked to be ....but then South
Africa's batting, fortified by Taylor's
and Catterall's centuries, and Bissett's pace bowling helped the home country
to square the series by winning the last two Tests.

In early July Guy Jackson accepted the invitation to
captain the side.

The names of the first eight to accept places was
made on 25 July:Jackson, Dawson,
Stevens, Wyatt, Legge, Hammond, Astill and Sutcliffe.

By the time of the third trial match in mid-August
the selection committee had finalised only three more of the team: Elliot,
Tyldesley and Geary. Freeman and Stanyforth were then added

Ian Peebles, making up the numbers in an
end-of-season fixture between M.C.C's South African XI versus C.I.Thornton's
XI at Scarborough, was added to the tour party on 8 September as Jackson's
secretary.Sam Staples, who would be
going to South Africa in
any event to fulfil a coaching engagement in Cape Town, was asked to stand by and was
eventually added to the team, too.

Withdrawal:G.R. Jackson stood down from the captaincy owing to
illness on 10 October. Holmes took his place.

Time between selection and departure from England

28 days

(23 September - 21 October)

Travel

SouthamptonTCape
Town

‘Kenilworth
Castle’’

In the pre-tour match G.R.Jackson skippered the M.C.C touring
side and Percy Holmes played for Thornton's
XI.

At Scarborough

v C.I.Thornton's XI

The team travelled down by rail from London’s
Waterloo Station to Southampton, from where
they embarked on 21 October 1927. They sailed on the 'Kenilworth Castle',
via Madeira, to Cape Town.

The ship docked on 7 November and the team attended a civic
reception, before going on to their first practice.